Letter to Pvt. Albert Penno, Co. D, 1st RI

4082011

Providence July 18 1861

My Dear husband

I sent myself to pen you a few lines not knowing whether they will ever reach you, god grant that it may and find you in good health as it leaves us all at home. I tell you what the last two days have been lonesome enough. Sometimes I feel as if I never should see you again, but I hope I shall. I see by the papers that you are in the midst of the Battle and that one of the 2nd regiment has got wounded and that your regiment took the secession flag from the Fairfax Courthouse. I suppose we shall know all about it in a few days when the first regiment gets home. They say here that they will be home next week. I suppose it will be a great day when they came home but it will be gloomy enough for me to see them come and know that you are left behind if you are only spared to get home once more you won’t get away again that is if I can have my way. I received a letter from you yesterday in it you say you want me to keep up good spirits. I try to but it comes hard sometimes, I can’t put my mind on my work or any thing else for I feel as if I had lost all the friends I had. Lizzie is all life expecting Albert home. I should like to see you tonight but I can’t so I will try to content myself by looking at your picture. But as much as I want to see you I should rather you would never come than to have you sent home as those fellows were last week, their names published in the papers and what they was sent home for. I want you to take good care of yourself and do the best you can and I hope all will be well. Do write as often as you can and I will do the same. I sent you yesterday by Mr. Grant one pound of tobacco and should have sent something more if I could. My will was good enough, but I had not the means. I have got to wait for a letter from you before I can get my money for if they know that I did not send the check there I could not get it. I am sorry you did not see that it was right before you left for I have needed it very much. Mr. Wightman and Saunders was in here tonight and said that Mr. Pratt was going on there to morrow and if I wanted to send any thing they would get him to take it ask I had nothing else I thought a few lines might be acceptable. He belongs to the first regiment. Don’t laugh at this scribbling for I am so uneasy to night that I can’t write. Don’t blame me to much for finding fault for I don’t mean to. I don’t know of anything more. Give my love to Daron and Dick and to your friends Charly and George. The children and myself send our love and best wishes to you and hope you will soon return at home. The Roys all send their love and Hannah, Marty, & John to you and Dick from your loving and affectionate wife.

Dulce bellum inexpertis

“I am sending you these little incidents as I hear them well authenticated. They form, to the friends of the parties, part of the history of the glorious 21st. More anon.”

About

Hello! I’m Harry Smeltzer and welcome to Bull Runnings, where you'll find my digital history project on the First Battle of Bull Run which is organized under the Bull Run Resources section. I'll also post my thoughts on the processes behind the project and commentary on the campaign, but pretty much all things Civil War are fair game. You'll only find musings on my “real job” or my personal life when they relate to this project. My mother always told me "never discuss politics or religion in mixed company”, and that's sound advice where current events are concerned.

The Project

This site is more than a blog. Bull Runnings also hosts digitized material pertaining to First Bull Run. In the Bull Run Resources link in the masthead and also listed below are links to Orders of Battle, After Action Reports, Official Correspondence, Biographical Sketches, Diaries, Letters, Memoirs, Newspaper Accounts and much, much more. Take some time to surf through the material. This is a work in process with no end in sight, so check back often!